The senior curriculum for public relations majors at Auburn University can be quite daunting, according to some students, but knowing what to expect can sometimes help ease the stress. Public Relations Campaigns (PRCM 4090) is a senior PR class that is unique to any other for one reason – students deal with a real life client.

In groups of five to six, PRCM 4090 students will spend their semester creating a PR campaign for a local client, and much of the work is done independent from direct professor guidance.

Abby Rhodes, a senior public relations major now taking 4090, talks about her experience at the beginning of the semester.

“I definitely didn’t have any idea that the class was structured this way,” says Rhodes. “After nearly 4 years of similar classes with lectures and tests, this class definitely caught me off guard. I had no idea we would be building a campaign for a real client. I remember walking out of class the first day thinking, ‘I hope I really paid attention in all my other PR classes.’ This class puts your knowledge to the test.”

Julie Jarvis Gregory is currently one of the teachers for Campaigns 4090, and she admits that the class can seem intimidating at first, but that students always find it to be easier than they first thought. According to Gregory, “The class is designed for senior PR students to gain first-hand experience in dealing with clients and also in creating campaigns for those clients.”

Most of the campaigns assigned are for non-profit organizations in the Auburn-Opelika area. Non-profit organizations have limited budgets; therefore, there are usually only one or two members of their PR department, if one exists. These local organizations greatly benefit from the work of 4090 students, and the students benefit by gaining priceless experience.

For example, one campaign this semester is focuses on reviving a dormant honor society for Auburn University’s Department of Communication and Journalism. Another campaign for the Lee County Humane Society was developed to raise the final $30,000 needed to build a spay and neuter clinic.

Students working on these campaigns are responsible for meeting with there client throughout the semester in a professional setting. All other work on the campaign is done at the groups’ discression.

“Campaigns has been a great learning experience, and when it is all said and done, I think I will really take a lot from it,” says Rhodes. “It’s a lot of work. In some ways it’s like a part-time job. My group presents our final campaign to our client in a week, and although we are a little nervous for the presentation, we are very happy with our final product.”

When Gregory was asked what she would tell a student coming into this class, she responded by saying, “Most students really realize, when they start getting into it, that it’s a lot more fun than they expected and a lot easier than they thought it would be.”


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